Massive winds bend the thick trunks of scrub oak trees until it seems the roots will soon rip out of the ground. Birds fly against the wind, working extra hard to move from branch to branch, and the heat would be overbearing if not for the winds.

I love nature, I love lightning, thunder and storms, even high winds … up to a point, until it becomes unsafe. In fact, I once rode out a hurricane in my car, stuck bumper-to-bumper in Central Florida as me and millions of others were trying to escape to safety up North. No cars flipped, but they were all rocking back and forth, bounding on their tires. It was more intense than any Six Flags ride and lasted for a few hours. Other than cowering in a basement corner waiting for an oncoming tornado, I think that is the most frightened I’ve ever been.

The Struggle

Looking back on childhood, I’m grateful for experiences that made my brothers and I stronger. I’m grateful my parents let us struggle and did not solve every problem for us.

As a parent, my temptation has been to tell my kids what to do at every turn, trying to keep them from pain. But pain is healthy, and we should save our controlling nature for those times when their lives or safety are actually at risk. Otherwise, skinned knees and wounded hearts are part of growing up. 

Our job as parents isn’t to clear the path for our kids but to get the kids ready for the path. Letting go is probably more important than control.

Go Ahead and Sleep Late

I want my kids to learn to be independent. For instance, one of my sons has a full-time job, and, like many, has not learned to manage his time. Plus he loves to stay up late, sometimes till the wee hours. Knowing he has to be at work at 6 a.m., I could call him and suggest he come home. And in the morning, I could go upstairs and wake him. But unless he experiences the pain of an unhappy boss because he is late or misses work, he won’t learn. So, in spite of my temptation to help make things smoother, I let him fail.

Do Your Own Laundry!

When I was a kid, my mom did our laundry and cooked our food, but she made me cook every week or two, choosing the menu for the family. We had lots of fried bologna and mashed potatoes. But at least I could survive if I had to (which came in handy once I left home.)

Laurie made our kids start doing their own laundry at about 7 years old. My daughter told me many kids come to college having never done their own laundry. She’s been doing it for more than half her life.

My natural instinct is to answer questions, step in and control situations, and blather on about lessons that need to be learned. But I have to fight my instincts.

What about you?

How were you raised?

Did your parents allow you to make mistakes, or did they control every outcome?

When my boys were in Cub Scouts I read a book called The Dangerous Book for Boys, which emphasized the importance of danger and adventure. Too many of us won’t let kids climb trees because we fear broken arms, but the book says that we need a sense of danger, we need to do things to help us build our confidence. (My daughter was as much about danger as my boys.) So while other moms and dads were preventing danger at the park, I was encouraging it. Though it was against my instinct, it’s important.

We’re not perfect. We paved too many paths and spoiled our kids in some ways. Thankfully, we didn’t try to control every moment. As a result we have confident, independent kids (sometimes too independent).

Are you paving a path or letting them make their own path?

The most important lesson for me as a parent is to let go. 

Step in only when it’s a matter of life or death. If they screw up and get arrested, I won’t bail them out. They need to learn. If we solve every problem, they’ll be looking to our solutions into adulthood.

Eric Rhoads

PS: Winds are pushing wildfires in New Mexico, which has discouraged a few people from attending our Plein Air Convention, which starts on Tuesday the 17th. Thankfully, I’m told that things are fairly clear in Santa Fe and our group is in no danger. If we do get an especially smoky day, we’ll simply paint together inside if we can’t go outside (unlikely). I’m bringing my entire family (triplets and their mom) to the convention this week to work. I hope you’ll come, or at least watch online.

This September it will be springtime in New Zealand (sounds like the name of a movie). I’m taking a group of 50 to the most amazing scenery on earth for painting. (Some come and don’t paint, they just tour or take photos.) I have a few seats left. www.paintingnewzealand.com

This June I’ll be painting with about a hundred friends at my 11th Publisher’s Invitational artists’ retreat in the Adirondacks. We’re going to some of the EXACT spots painted by the Hudson River School painters. In fact, we’re staying and painting in the exact location frequented by Winslow Homer. One price includes room and meals (yep, a week where you don’t have to cook or clean!!). www.paintadirondacks.com

The sun is streaming painfully into my eyes. It’s bright and brilliant orange, kissing tree limbs and the tops of grasses as it makes its way to me. I tip my new 10-gallon straw cowboy hat down over my eyes to find shade.

This morning’s heat is intense. Today will be a candle-melter, and not good for the chocolate bar tucked between the seats in my car. I may come back to a bowl of soup.

Walking on the deck in my pointy-toed boots, I hear the sound of cowboys about to go head-to-head in a quick draw. The only things missing are spurs and a six-shooter. I’m not normally a cowboy kind of guy, but I love watching it on Yellowstone. It makes me want to pretend.

Finding the Impossible

In 1980, two days before my first wedding, which was to occur in my parents’ backyard on a lake, I decided it would be cool to surprise the bride with a ride down the aisle in a horse and buggy. “But where can I possibly find a horse and buggy?” I wondered. Nothing was in the phone book, and the Internet did not exist. So I started thinking about where there might be an abundance of buggies. I got in the car, drove out to Amish country, and started looking for farms with buggies. I’d stop, knock on the door, and tell them what I was looking for. Though people were friendly every time, these were tools they needed for their farms or to conduct their lives. And the more doors that shut, the more determined I was to find a horse and buggy. I had set my mind on it, and I was not going to stop looking. 

Down the Road

The next stop, a nice farmer told me that a cousin down the road had just taken delivery on a new buggy that had never been used. Soon I showed up at his door and explained my desire to make the wedding special. I told him I wanted to decorate the buggy with flowers and bring my bride down the aisle with her father. I offered to pay him, though I did not have much money to offer. He started thinking, and I felt a rejection coming, but instead he said, “I have a friend with a truck. I’ll deliver the truck with the buggy and my finest Tennessee Walker to you two hours before the wedding on Saturday. The only payment I want is a photo of the bride in the buggy.” We shook on it. 

A Liquid Chuckle

No one knew about this surprise, so we unloaded the horse and buggy, I decorated it with flowers, and right before going down the aisle, it was sprung on my wife-to-be. Soon, as I was standing at the front, “Here Comes the Bride” was played on an accordion. Next, the carriage with the bride slowly trotted to the side of the crowd, who gasped in awe. She walked up, and we were married by a minister who was an old family friend. After the ceremony, we sawed a log together, an old German tradition to signify working on life’s struggles together. One of the most memorable moments was when the horse took a leak in the middle of the ceremony. Everyone chuckled.

I can remember that day in great detail. 

Dueling ’Vettes

Just this past week, two friends of mine flew from their home in California to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where they picked up two amazing new Corvettes. They then drove them across the country side by side, stopping at all the fun tourist attractions along the way. Not only was it a lifetime dream to own a couple of cool cars like that, they ended up making a memory that they say is one of their best lifetime memories ever. They could have easily bought the cars at a local dealer, but instead they built a memory.

Though memories are often accidental, life is about orchestrating memories. Where would we be without family vacations, celebrations, and special moments?

Thumbs Up

My dad taught me about memory-making by example. My head is filled with childhood memories of camping in our Airstream; getting stranded on a narrow mountain pass to Vail, Colorado, and hitchhiking into town; and having the convertible top slashed and all of our things stolen. We camped along Lake Erie across from Cedar Point, we boated and skied, we learned to sail, we even did Power Squadron courses in severe weather, and we often went to the amusement park. But memories did not stop there.

Sitting in a Circle

Many years later Dad built a tepee on his property, and we would have dessert there when guests were in town visiting the Adirondacks. We would sing around the campfire, bang drums, and tell ghost stories. That tradition will continue now that Dad is gone.

Ring the Breakfast Triangle

My father also built a tiny cabin with a wood stove and nothing inside but a table and chairs. It was called the Trapper Cabin, was decorated with antiques and old animal skins, and the first or last morning when visiting his house (called a camp), he would put on his chef’s hat and cook eggs, bacon, and pancakes for visiting guests. It was a tradition that lasted 30 years and made lots of memories.

Traditions and memory-making are hard work. Looking back, I realize just how hard my parents worked to create memories for us. It was worth it. So many people don’t have a lot of memories.

The Most Important Yet

Consider that this may be the most special summer ever. Many of us have been distanced from our families, unable to travel, and now that we are free and can see them, it’s a time to make special memories. Especially knowing things could change without notice and we might not have a chance to make more memories.

What memories will you make for yourself and your family this spring and summer?
Where can you go? 

What can you do?
What new traditions can you create?

It’s worth the effort. When everything else is gone, our memories last forever. 

Eric Rhoads

PS: Last weekend I made memories with a dozen or so painters, painting together in Utopia, Texas. We painted on private farms and saw some stunning scenery! Thanks to Guy Morrow for organizing it. We’re keeping you in our prayers.

Some of my best memories have taken place at the painters’ events I’ve created. I’ve made hundreds of friends and a handful of best friends at events like the Plein Air Convention, which is a gathering of hundreds of artists who come to learn, paint together in a beautiful spot, and play (May 17-21 in Santa Fe). I have memories of painting in amazing places with them, and memories of silly stage moments like Plein Air Wars, the game show we’re doing on stage this year. We still have seats (highly unusual because normal years were sold out at this point), and for this year, we are providing an opportunity for online attendance since some cannot make it to Santa Fe. www.pleinairconvention.com

When I was in my early 30s I went to the Adirondacks for the first time. The area became my photography muse, and later my muse for painting. Its beauty is unique, unlike any other place in America. There are 6 million protected acres of stunning scenery. I’ll be making memories and friendships there in June when I hold my annual spring artist retreat. There are no lessons, just painting and play with old and new friends all day for a week. We have lots of fun, and at this point we have a handful of seats left. It’s all-inclusive, one price for lodging, meals, and the event. www.paintadirondacks.com

Memories will also occur painting in New Zealand this September. I have a few seats left. www.paintingnewzealand.com

Buckets of BBs fall over my head onto the tin metal roof. The sound is deafening as gushes of water drop from the sky and make the roof vibrate with energy. The building shakes as monumental thunder roars overhead, the kind that is so deep that the sky rumbles and the earth moves as if a missile slammed into the ground nearby. Yet I sit here on the porch, covered and dry, feeling secure in my old Texas country ranch house where I can step back and observe the storm from safety.  

Watching a storm from afar, or from a place of safety, gives you a much better perspective and state of mind than being pelted with wind-driven raindrops. If only we could look at our personal storms with the same perspective.

Recently I heard someone say the difference between successful people and those who are not so successful is how they perceive and deal with their problems. 

Have you ever had problems so big, so thunderous, that they become all-consuming?

I can remember problems that were so big that I could not sleep, that I was pacing the floor, all my muscles were tense and I felt pressure in my chest, and my eyes were tear-filled because of my fear. 

Stress Is Death

Any doctor will tell you that stress like that is a killer. And if I had continued on the same track, it might have taken me early. But once I discovered how to deal with problems, my life changed. 

One word or sentence can trigger major stress, so whoever wrote “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” was a well-meaning liar.  

Dreams Destroyed

I can remember a few choice words from my partner decades ago that threw me into a tizzy. The news completely defeated me and instantly destroyed my dreams. I had big dreams, and a big plan to achieve them, and suddenly a few words pulled the rug from under me. My hopes were gone, and there was nothing I could do. Everything suddenly changed. I thought my world had come to an end. I was depressed for weeks and fully consumed by my stress and angst. Today as I look backward, I realize it was the best thing that ever happened to me in business. But I could not see it at the time.

If you look backward, do those giant all-consuming problems still feel as big, now that they have passed?

Was all the worry and stress helpful?

Can You Read the Label?

Perspective is a wonderful thing. My close friend author Roy Williams often talks about the view from “inside the bottle” versus the view from outside. When you’re inside, you can’t see what others see. You can’t read the label.

I’ve since discovered that one key to problem-solving is to step outside the bottle. If you can gain perspective and distance yourself from the problem, you gain clarity of thought instead of confused, cloudy, frantic, “my world is ending” panic.

Our Worst Day Ever

When my son Brady had a heart attack at age 17 and nearly died, we were frantic, helpless, and of course our minds were taking us to dark places because we were given information that led us to believe he might not live through the night, and because we overheard the paramedics say, “He’s gone” (listening by phone as they tried to revive him). You can imagine our horror. 

During that time, while speeding to the hospital, I remember telling myself, “Remain calm somehow.” It was clear that this was the worst that could ever happen as parents. 

“Remain clear-headed,” I told myself, assuming we might have to make some very tough decisions. Knowing everyone else around me was screaming out in pain, I felt as though I could actually make things worse if I had to make rash emotional decisions. Thankfully he lived and has the prospect of a long, healthy life. 

“Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.”  — Robert Schuller

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

After a lifetime of business and problems, I look back on my prayers for help, and I’m grateful that most of those prayers were not answered. Thankfully, God’s wisdom for what we need is better than our own. People ask why bad things happen to good people, and the answer is that sometimes He needs to get our attention, help us trust more in him, and help us understand that what we think is good for us isn’t.

I’ve come to look at problems as gifts, as lessons, as challenges, and in many cases as opportunities. 

How are you looking at problems?

What is your biggest problem?

Take a moment to think about it.

Write it down. 

How you think about problems will define how you arrive at solutions. But also, how long you think about problems is important.

Thinking Time

My mentor Keith Cunningham has taught me to take “thinking time” on every problem, to write down a hundred solutions to every problem — and also write down what I’m doing to cause the problem. Problems are often symptoms of a bigger issue.

It’s easy to come up with five solutions to a problem. But the first five or 10 are usually the easy answers. When you dig deep and force the discipline of a longer list, that’s where major solutions are discovered.

A woman I recently met told me about coming close to death and having an out-of-body experience, looking down on her surgeons. What if you could look at problems like an out-of-body experience, where you’re looking at a problem from the outside?

Try it. It changes everything.

Eric Rhoads

PS: Not only does May bring showers and flowers, it’s bringing the entire plein air painting community together for a much-needed reunion. Now that COVID has been declared officially over in the U.S., join me in Santa Fe for the Plein Air Convention & Expo, May 17-22  (or starting May 16 for those coming to the Kevin Macpherson pre-convention workshop). Can’t make it? We just added online attendance, and we have brand-new details here.

PS 2: As soon as the convention is over, Laurie and I will drive to the Adirondacks to get ready for the Publisher’s Invitational painters’ retreat. This is my 11th, and it’s loads of fun to treat yourself to someone else doing cooking and to go painting every day. Learn more here. 

PS 3: If you’re looking for something really exceptional, join me on a painting trip to New Zealand in September. I’m very excited. So far, we’re a little more than half sold out. It’s limited to 50 people. Here are the details.

PS 4: Pastel Live, our online pastel conference featuring the top pastel artists in the world, is coming in August. I’ve been doing lots of pastel painting lately and I really love the gift of learning something new. Being self-taught isn’t what it’s cracked up to be — learning from top pros is such a time-saver. www.pastellive.com.

PS 5: I hope that someday people look back and say, “Eric and his team are known for providing access to the very top artists in the world and creating high-quality training with them.” The latest is a new video from the legend Michael Coleman. Check it out. It’s soon to be our best seller for the year.

Giant oak tree branches are swaying gracefully like ballet dancers, but fiercely, as spring comes roaring in like a lion. As I open the old screen door, the springs squeak like fingers on a chalkboard. Then there’s a loud, abrupt slam behind me, amplified by the wind. 

Green specks of pollen have covered every square inch of the newly painted back deck and the old wicker couch. I dust off the couch, making for a cloud of green and a quick sneeze, and sit here observing dancing-tree entertainment during this gray overcast day in hopes of some sprinkles to feed the wildflowers, which are hiding their beautiful heads just under the blades of grass, waiting for nourishment to come.

Spring always excites me as it leads to summer, my favorite time of year.

One of the great joys of my life was spending lots of the summer at my grandparents’ old clapboard house at 317 West Wildwood Street back home in Indiana. It too had a squeaky screen door that would slam loudly.

Because I grew up in a single-story ranch house, it was a lot of fun to stay at my grandparents’ home. They had two stories, a basement, and stairs, so I used to slide down the banister or run from the top of the stairs down to the basement and back. I’d bang on the keys of the antique Packard piano, then I’d slip into the small kitchen to watch “Mema” making sugar cookies with pink icing flowers and green leaves. I can still taste their sweet flavor.

Hot Indiana summer nights were brutal, but sleeping in the middle bedroom with a fan in the window somehow made it tolerable. I loved the humming sound of that old 1940s fan; it was very soothing and is a sound I’ll never forget. Combined with the sound of cicadas outside the window, it was the perfect noise to induce sleep.

Great Taste

Though it was never spoken of, my grandparents must have had a great love of art because their house was filled with art prints, mostly from the 18th century. In fact, one of the first Old Master copies I painted was a self-portrait by Elisabeth Vigee-Le Brun (1755–1842) with her daughter. I never knew why I loved that painting so much, yet decades later, cleaning out my grandparents’ storage unit, I found the prints that were hanging in their house during my youth. One was a print of that very painting. It’s no wonder I was drawn to it.

Real Art

Depending on which cousins or brothers and sisters were staying at the house, I’d sometimes get moved to the front bedroom. There between the windows was a beautiful original oil painting of a deer by a stream. I used to stare at it as I went to sleep, it was so soothing. As an adult, I found out that my grandmother’s sister, Aunt Ruth Goad, was the artist. Suddenly finding out there was an artist in our family filled me with joy. It also might explain why my mother was so drawn to painting.

A Plein Air Pioneer?

I’m told my aunt set up her paints on location at that stream to paint the scene, which, if true, would make her a plein air painter like me. Maybe at some subconscious level, that’s why I became a plein air (outdoor) painter.  

One of the jewels found among the prints and other curios in my grandparents’ storage unit was my aunt’s painting, which probably hung in the front bedroom for more than 50 years — and since I discovered it, has been hanging in my house for more than 25 years. I consider it a family treasure.

Planting a Garden

Whether intentionally or not, my grandparents planted seeds that impacted my mother, me, and probably my brother who became an artist. Art around the house planted seeds. The piano planted interest in music.

The seeds they planted run deep. Family stories, important life lessons, family recipes, how to grow incredible tomatoes, and more.

At Easter dinner last week, I told my family about my great-grandfather Joseph Samuel (Sam)  Garrett. As a small boy I used to visit him and my great-grandmother Lucinda Range Garrett at their farm in Armathwaite, Tennessee, near Jamestown. 

At 8, I’d have to clean chicken coops, shuck corn, and sometimes milk their cow. My grandparents lived in a home they built themselves (my grandfather and his cousin helped as boys). I can remember my grandfather had an old shack on the property, and the inside was filled with canaries in cages, which I assume he raised to supplement his income as a preacher. I can remember the deafening but pleasing sound of a thousand canaries while I watched him care for them.

A Country Preacher

Grandpa Garrett preached down the road at Mount Helen Baptist Church, a tiny white country church. A plaque on the wall with his portrait, painted by Aunt Ruth (his daughter), said that he had gone all over the region on his horse, preaching the Gospel and starting churches. I don’t recall how many, but it was impressive. Maybe 12 or 16 churches, which is no easy task. He is buried near Mount Helen Baptist. 

Sharing Lessons

Over Easter dinner I told my kids about the impact of that one man. Today, my family, my kids, my cousins, their kids, distant cousins and their kids, our families, are Christ followers because of this man. But more impressively, hundreds of lives were changed by those churches he founded and the revivals he held. Now, five or more generations later, the work of a single individual has impacted thousands of lives. 

I reminded my kids that they too can impact thousands of lives, in their own way. 

Our world is filled with stories of people who made a difference. Some became leaders of countries, others wrote books, music, or movies impacting millions of lives, and others made heroic efforts that made a difference. Some simply made their impact by being great parents.I wanted them to know that they should never consider themselves too small to make a difference. That everyone has a contribution to make if they are willing to step out and make it.

Self-Appointed

Thirty years ago, while in the radio industry, I decided some other opinions needed to be expressed about how the industry should operate. So I started a magazine, started editorializing in every issue, and after about a year of being seen, started to see the weight of my words affecting an entire industry. I was not sanctioned or appointed, I simply decided I had something to say that might make a difference and became a self-appointed publisher.

Leaders do not wait to be appointed or noticed, they simply step in at a time when they believe they can make an impact or be helpful. If they wait to be noticed or invited, nothing great will ever happen. We have to learn to speak up for ourselves and share our passions.

Count the ways you have made a difference in other lives.

In what ways have your roles, your ideas, or your contributions made a difference?

World-Changing

People need to know that they don’t need permission or an invitation to step up. When they see a need, they need to fill it. When they see an injustice, they need to point it out. When they see an opportunity, they need to grab it.For some of us, it’s simply making a difference in how we train our kids. For others it might be starting a church or an organization. For others, it means changing the world.

“Chance favors only the prepared mind.” — Louis Pasteur

Though we may not set out with specific intentions, there are rare moments that present themselves. A prepared mind may not have a plan, but a prepared mind is always looking at everything as an opportunity to make a difference. So they leap out and grab the golden ring of opportunity when it presents itself. 

Split-Second Opportunity

While consulting a radio station in Utah, the owner and I were discussing the renewal of my contract. The owner said he didn’t think he would renew because he was going to sell the station. I said, “I’m so confident that I can make this station a success, I’ll buy it from you. Name your price.” Though I was bluffing, he called my bluff, and I ended up raising the money and buying the station. 

How Did THAT Happen?

While visiting the editor of a radio industry trade magazine to complain about my lack of advertising success for my Giant Boom Box mobile studios, the editor confided in me that he was not mailing out the number of issues promised because the owner was no longer committed to the magazine. So I went across the hall and requested a meeting with the owner. When the owner told me he wasn’t committed because the magazine was losing money, I told him I’d buy it from him if he would let me make payments based on profitability. I walked out of the meeting with a handshake to buy, and I’ve owned that magazine for over 30 years this year.

None of these things were planned. I never had a plan to go into radio ownership, till I grabbed it. I never had a plan to start a radio industry business publication, till it presented itself in a split second. I never intended to get into the art world or become an artist, until an opportunity was exposed. Yet by always being on the lookout for opportunity, and always listening carefully, I boldly grabbed opportunities, not knowing where they would take me. That’s the key to having a prepared mind.

Where will you carry your influence? 

In what ways will you change the world or those around you?

Are you prepared to grab unplanned opportunity?

I have confidence in you.

Eric Rhoads

P.S. My dad died a year ago this past week. Looking back on the very busy last year, I realize I used the need to be busy to deal with my grief. There is nothing quite like sorting things, moving boxes, and emptying houses and garages to keep your mind off grief. But last week on the anniversary, it hit me like a Steinway dropping out of a sixth-story window. I miss him terribly. I miss his great advice and his great stories. I realize I’m very much the man I have become because of him. I’m sure the same was true of him and his parents and grandparents. It was he who taught me how to be alert for opportunity because I watched him grab it all the time. I’m thankful for such a great mentor.

Dad read Sunday Coffee every week and would call me with ideas on how to expand on what I had written. He was encouraging and told me to never stop because my job is to encourage others and help them gain confidence in themselves. It’s what he did for me.

I also learned to be prepared for the best and the worst. I’ve avoided a lot of freight trains running over me and my business because of his training. The only reason I’ve survived the negative impacts of the pandemic is because he taught me how to change on a moment’s notice and come up with creative solutions fast. He would always say, “You can’t take a lot of time to make decisions in a crisis.” He would tell me, “Make a decision and move fast.”

Coming up on May 17 I’m holding my first live convention in two years. I had to cancel two Plein Air Conventions and one Figurative Art Convention and a few artist retreats and trips. So I am grateful we can hold the convention in person. And lots of people are coming.

But I’ve also heard from lots of people who want to be there but cannot come because of their circumstances. So last week I announced that you can attend the convention online. We will broadcast our main stage and offer it at a reduced price. Already people are signing up. This is a great example of pivoting at the last minute. I hope you can join us at www.pleinairconvention.com.

I should also mention that I announced a New Zealand painters’ trip, and it’s already half sold out. If you want to go this fall (springtime in NZ), visit paintingnewzealand.com.

Here’s what else is going on….

We’ve just launched our 12th Annual PleinAir Salon Art Competition. Head over to PleinAirSalon.com to see how you can win $15,000 for your art.

Our next virtual event, Pastel Live, is happening in August. About 40% of the people who attended PleinAir Live have already signed up. It’s going to be fun, fun, fun! Check it out at PastelLive.com.

I feel like I’m living a scene from a James Dean movie … it’s so hot that everyone has stripped down to the bare minimum, they are fanning themselves, and sweat is rolling down their hot red sunburned faces. Texas heat isn’t for the faint of heart. Our springs are short here, jumping right into the heat of an early summer. The ice in my cup has melted and the outside of the glass is sweating and my sticky fingers keep slipping off the keyboard. 

Have you tried to buy a bag of ice lately? A bag of ice has doubled in price. And it seems like the cost of everything is rushing out of control due to scarcity, supply chain issues, and just plain inflation.

Child Labor

I remember the stories my dad would tell me about the Great Depression. He was just a child, but he had to work to help support the family, and they had to rent out the home they owned in order to survive. They moved to my Great-Grandfather Rhoads’s farm out on Illinois Road, which was 88 acres. Even though they grew much of their food, they barely survived.

Inflation is not necessarily an indicator of a coming depression, but it is having a serious impact on the cost of goods, making living more difficult for all of us.

I hear a lot of chatter about these things lately, and part of that chatter is people giving themselves excuses to fail. 

Not-So-Great Expectations

I’ve already heard people telling me they expect the current situation to have a negative impact on their business or on their lives. I’ve encountered artists and galleries who tell me they are expecting this to be a bad year. Meanwhile, I’m hearing from others who tell me that business has never been better.

There are facts we cannot change, but there are attitudes we can change. The attitude needs to be: “I’ll succeed and thrive no matter what outside circumstances exist.”

The Worst in My Lifetime

2008 was a pretty dire situation. The economy had crashed, big companies like AIG and Lehman Brothers had failed, and spending had slowed. During that time in the art world, I watched businesses react negatively, leading to their demise. Simultaneously, I watched others double down on spending, building their businesses bigger, especially when their competitors were not spending on advertising. I even saw a new gallery launch and quickly grow, taking away the customers the others would have had if they had not operated with a shrinking mindset.

The New King

During the Great Depression, there was a giant shift in a lot of categories. Post was the dominant cereal brand, with something like an 80 percent market share. When business got bad, the board decided to stop all advertising. Suddenly a new startup called the Kellogg Company came on the scene. They went after Post, promoted heavily, and spent big ad dollars. To Post, this was a gnat they thought they could swipe away. Kellogg would never touch them, because they were too big to fail … they thought. So they did not react and didn’t keep their ads going, because they wanted to save money. 

By the end of the Depression, Kellogg had taken the lion’s share of the market and become the leading cereal company. Post became number two, and to this day has never regained its dominance.

Mindset made the difference.

The Kellogg Company could have said, “Bad time to start up. Let’s hold back.” Or they could have said, “Let’s start out small and see what happens. if we grow a little, we can spend a little more money.” Instead they went full speed ahead. It took courage and confidence and a “never say die” attitude. It worked.

How is the current economy impacting your mindset?

Are you planning to succeed no matter what, or will you shrink yourself to failure?

Mindset is the starting point. Courage is important, as are creativity and willingness to find a way, and willingness to work harder than ever. Often others stop working as hard because they think working harder won’t make a difference. 

Time for Change

A little-known fact is that there were many businesses that thrived during the Depression. Many of those companies chased new opportunities when they saw dominant players lay low and stop promoting. They had to be creative and find new and different ways to promote their businesses, and they had to step up and do some things that were frightening (like spending on advertising). But many survived, and many thrived.The key is to have a Churchill mindset … “Never, ever, ever give up.”

And it starts by making up your mind, by telling yourself, “No matter what is happening in the world around me, I will find a way to survive and thrive.”

What will you do? 

How will you respond?

Eric Rhoads

PS: Feeling like a caged animal, unable to leave home for two years, I am thrilled to be free and able to hold my Plein Air Convention this May. In fact, we just got BREAKING NEWS that the State of New Mexico has lifted all restrictions, so we are no longer being told to limit attendance. And there is no longer social distancing or masking required (you can still wear a mask if you wish). This is great news, and may result in a massive number of people signing up. I’ve even decided to NOT raise the price on April 17 as planned and will wait to raise it on May 12, allowing everyone a chance to get the low price. You can sign up at www.pleinairconvention.com.

One person who is coming told me, “I am not going to let gas prices or travel costs or anything get in my way of getting out. I’ve missed this, and I don’t know if they will lock us down again.”

Here’s what’s happening at my company Streamline at the moment…

Our 9th Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo is quickly approaching and we’ve just learned that ALL restrictions have been lifted and more seats have opened up! So sign up now to gather with your fellow artists in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico for our first in-person event in two years! Study with the plein air masters, get discounts on art supplies in the Expo Hall and paint with over 500 of your fellow plein air enthusiasts. Sign up now at PleinAirConvention.com.

We’ve just launched our 12th Annual PleinAir Salon Art Competition. Head over to PleinAirSalon.com to see how you can win $15,000 for your art.

We are going to New Zealand again! Our last trip in 2017 was a huge success so we’re doing it again. Join me and 45 other artists in painting some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. PaintingNewZealand.com

Our next virtual event, Pastel Live, is happening in August. About 40% of the people who attended PleinAir Live have already signed up. It’s going to be fun, fun, fun! Check it out at PastelLive.com.

The scent of concord grape soda fills the air as purple Texas mountain laurel trees are in full blossom. Bare twisted live oaks with thousands of tiny twigs are starting to sprout little brilliant green buds. Following a brisk wind, the air is fresh as I deeply fill my lungs to enjoy the arrival of spring and the sound of songbirds. I keep filling up the bird feeders to support my local bird choir (and a few dozen random squirrels). A small aircraft flies overhead — the view of the blossoms from the air must be a beautiful sight.

Any pilot will tell you that when flying a small airplane, if you get into a spiral dive, you don’t even really know it. You can’t feel it, and can only tell from your instruments. If you try to control the airplane at that point, you won’t be able to, and holding on to the controls only makes things worse. A Death Dive

When I was a child, my dad went into such a dive, and in spite of all his training, he wanted to control the aircraft. But in the back of his mind he remembered something he had read in a classic book called Stick and Rudder that said when this happens, simply let go.

Imagine spinning out of control, in a steep dive, only a few seconds to make decisions before you slam into the ground, and having to give up control. But let go he did, and the plane corrected itself just seconds before he would have crashed. Once the plane was corrected, his altitude was less than 200 feet. His life was saved by doing the opposite of instinct and letting go. And I’m thankful he did, because I had my dad my entire life until last year.

No Control

Last week while we were in church, our pastor said something that reminded me of my dad’s death dive. He was talking about things we cannot control, saying that sometimes we simply have to trust God to resolve things. He talked about how hard it is to let go, but that sometimes our attempts at control only worsen the problem.

Control Freak

Being a control freak, which is a natural direction when you build and own a business, letting go is the hardest thing to do. Yet people cannot grow when you “mansplain” every answer. The same is true with kids. If they don’t suffer a little, if they don’t have to figure things out, if you rescue them at every turn, they leave the house unprepared. 

What are you trying to control that isn’t working?

Those of us who think we’re in control need to understand that we are not, not really. We simply cannot solve every problem. And sometimes the best solution to a problem is to let go and let it work itself out. Like letting go of the controls in a plane, this is counterintuitive, but it often provides the best possible result.

No one likes to be controlled. Especially me.

Mr. Big Shot

When I was 25, I bought my first radio station. The day we closed on the station and I took over, I walked into the big beautiful manager’s office and thought, “What have I got myself into?” I had no idea what to do or even how to behave. So I did what I had seen from some of my mentors and what I had seen from “typical bosses” on TV. I became a control freak. I started barking orders, being demanding, and trying to show who was boss. I even fired a couple of people on the spot for insubordination, humiliating them in front of others. I did not listen — I knew all the answers.

A Sad Day

One day we faced a tragedy, when a fellow employee died suddenly. It hit me and everyone hard, but because one of the managers had been engaged to this employee, and another manager had been overly demanding the day this person died, there was a lot of anger and guilt. Within 12 hours of this person’s passing, those two managers resigned and got all of their people to resign. Suddenly I had only two employees left. In hindsight, I realized I got no loyalty because I tried to control everything. It wasn’t working.

Screamers

I’m lucky to have learned that lesson early. I had to learn the proper way to manage people, which is to pull and inspire, not to push and fire. There are legends about people like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, who are said to be screamers. I think people will put up with more when working for a brilliant visionary. The rest of us mere mortals need to manage by inspiration, and I had to learn how to stop controlling every little thing and let go.

Perfection Is the Enemy

There is a saying I learned when running my tech company, RadioCentral, in Silicon Valley. “Perfection is the enemy of greatness.” In other words, deliver — and don’t wait till something is perfect to deliver it. You can always make adjustments and changes after you launch. My mentor Keith Cunningham disputes the idea that “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” He insists that it should be “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly” because we won’t do things if we’re waiting for perfection. We have to learn to do things, and we’re going to make mistakes along the way, which is OK. What he is talking about is letting go.

In what ways is control getting in the way of your success in your family or work?

What’s the worst that would happen if you let go?

In what ways is controlling hurting yourself, and your relationships?

How would you feel if you could just let go and wait to see what happens?

It took a lot of mistakes for me to discover this. It’s why I’m calm, why I tend not to stress or worry much, and why I believe everything will work out. Maybe it will work out now, maybe later, maybe years from now, or maybe I have to wait for eternity for correction. But things are out of my hands and in God’s hands. Knowing that gives me peace and reduces my need to control everything.

Like anyone, I play “what if” games in my head. What if this fails, what if this doesn’t work out, what if the kids don’t turn out OK?

Let go. 

Eric Rhoads

PS: I have to admit I had a few tense moments after receiving a call from the people who run our convention hotel for the Plein Air Convention in Santa Fe. “I’m sorry, but we can’t let you have more than 750 people. We’ll be required to spread out the seats in the auditorium.” 

After two years of cancellations and no income from my most important income source, I was hoping to get something coming in again. Prior to COVID we had 1,200 people attending. And though they may change their minds at the last minute, for now, I’m only allowed 750 people. So I have only about 97 seats left. 

If you are planning to come to this festival-like celebration of plein air painting, the world’s largest paint-out, and four stages of lessons over four days from the top landscape artists in the world, I’d recommend you book one of those 97 seats this week. May is coming up fast.

I know you’re eager to be back with people again. I know I am. I hope to see you there. 

Wanna come and paint?

Spring and fall are my busiest times of year. Soon after the Plein Air Convention I’ll head to the Adirondacks for the summer, and I’ll hold my Publisher’s Invitational artist retreat for a week up there. It’s a week of just painting, and one price includes your room, meals, and the event. It’s a blast, and all levels of painters from beginners to pros paint together. We play a lot, have music, paint portraits at night (optional), and it’s summer camp for painters of all ages. I’ve become very close to lots of people who attend. I’m looking forward to seeing you there.

Let’s go paint in New Zealand

Clearly my Russia painting trip had to be canceled, so we replaced it with a 50-person trip to New Zealand. It’s a premium trip, and it will be amazing. And we hit NZ in springtime, when it’s green and flowering. Of the 50, I have 30 seats left. Come join us.

Here’s what’s happening at my company Streamline at the moment…

We’ve just launched our 12th Annual PleinAir Salon Art Competition. Head over to PleinAirSalon.com to see how you can win $15,000 for your art. 

We are going to New Zealand again! Our last trip in 2017 was a huge success so we’re doing it again. Join me and 45 other artists in painting some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. PaintingNewZealand.com

Our 9th Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo is quickly approaching. We’ve only got 97 seats left so sign up now to gather with your fellow artists in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico for our first in-person event in two years! Study with the plein air masters, get discounts on art supplies in the Expo Hall and paint with over 500 of your fellow plein air enthusiasts. Sign up now at PleinAirConvention.com. 

Our next virtual event, Pastel Live, is happening in August. About 40% of the people who attended PleinAir Live have already signed up. It’s going to be fun, fun, fun! Check it out at PastelLive.com. 

Little tiny buds are peeking out of the flowerbeds and grass. Brilliant green is starting to come out of the otherwise dead-looking trees, and the warmth of the sun and longer days are strong indicators that spring has arrived. Bluebonnets are covering local roadsides, and soon, maybe today, I’ll be out painting them.

Like spring, I love the reckless unbridled passion of youth and its boundless hope as we bud and blossom into adulthood to take us to our careers and our purposes. 

As a young budding entrepreneur in my 20s, I was filled with passion, hope, and giant dreams. But I was also smart enough to know I did not know it all (though there were times when I thought I did). So, to grow my skills, I went to a seminar and saw the legendary insurance billionaire W. Clement Stone (1902-2002) . At the time Stone was probably 70 and filled with incredible wisdom and energy. He was the first motivational speaker I ever saw.

Desperate and in Debt

I remember Stone talking about his plight growing up, his circumstances of being extremely poor. His dad died when he was really young, leaving the family with a lot of debt, so to supplement his mom’s dressmaker income, he started selling newspapers on the corner. But money was tight, and there was never enough. Mr. Stone talked about how he was trying to figure out how to make more money selling papers to survive, and how he had the idea to enlist his friends and get them selling papers for him on commission. At age 8 or 10, he was supporting his family and bringing in more income than his mother.

Before long he started selling insurance, and just about 20 years later, using the same principle of getting others to help him multiply his income, he managed to get a thousand people to sell for him. That gave him enough money to start his own insurance company, which had a billion dollars in assets by 1979.

Leverage Is Critical

Stone told us that he learned about leverage because of necessity. Even though everyone had told him he could not survive and could not support his mom and family at such a young age, he worked smart instead of just working hard. 

I remember him saying that no matter how hard he worked by himself, his income was limited because there were only so many hours in the day and only so many newspapers he could personally sell. And it wasn’t enough to solve his problem. His needs were high, so he had to figure out how to get more money while working the same number of hours. Again, he was a kid of 8 or 10, enlisting other kids to sell papers for him.

A Rare Billionaire

Stone became a billionaire (unheard of at the time) by setting high goals and figuring out how to overcome the time it would normally take to hit those goals. His lessons in youth set the tone for how he did business in his 100 years of life.

Most of us who set goals, myself included, set a goal for five years out, and figure out how to ramp up over the years to hit that goal. Stone said his success was based on compressing five years into one year. 

“Everyone will tell you it’s impossible to hit a five-year goal in one year, and to them, it’s not possible. But you can do it now if you simply figure out how to leverage others to hit it faster.”

Standing on stage in front of a giant auditorium of people, he had us chanting: “DO IT NOW!”

What are your dreams? 

What are your goals?

Is there a way you can achieve those dreams this year?

Are you telling yourself it’s impossible? 

I don’t claim to be as mentally strong as Stone, and I’m certainly not a billionaire, but his philosophy has helped me throughout my career. “What can we get done this year instead of waiting a few years?” I’ve been known to say. And I’m often accused of pushing too hard to get things done early. Now you understand why.

A Series of Questions

When I catch myself saying, “There is no way I could do that this year,” I try to stop myself and ask, “How is it possible to do it anyway? If I had unlimited resources, could I do it?”

Stone taught me that “unlimited resources” is the right way to think about crushing a goal in less time. Start there, then ask yourself how you can get those resources now. Then, if it’s super expensive, ask yourself how you could get those same resources with less money, or no money.

“Most people stop asking themselves questions too soon. They simply stop with the fact that it’s impossible. But keep asking more questions, and more on top of those, and even more until you figure out a way. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. Drill down till you find answers.”

My mentor Keith Cunningham likes to say that all the answers are in the questions, and that if we all spent more time thinking, we would save a lot of time with answers that often speed up our progress.

What about you?

A Major Goal Accomplished

A couple of years ago I declared that I wanted to teach a million people to paint. “But how do I reach a million people?” I asked myself. My answer was to buy advertising. But then I told myself I could not afford it. So, once I came to that conclusion, I asked how I could do it for free or with a low investment. The answer that came was a daily Facebook/YouTube live broadcast, which during COVID reached far more than a million people. (In fact, I was in Mexico last week when I was stopped on the street by a local man who watches me on the Internet.)

If you pose the questions, the answers will come. If they don’t come, ask more questions. Eventually the impossible becomes possible. 

Belief Trumps Doubt

1. Clement Stone told a room of a few hundred people that some of us would go home and do it now, and the rest of us would never believe it’s possible and may never realize our dreams.

But those who do will live rich lives with a lot of satisfaction, having lived their dreams.

His advice: Do It now. Find a way.

Eric Rhoads

PS: The pandemic kicked us all in the gut. In my case, my business was on life support, my live events were canceled multiple times, and I’ve been anxious to bring them back. Thankfully, the Plein Air Convention WILL happen this May in Santa Fe. That is great news because we can get the gang back together. The bad news is, I’m being restricted. I can only have 750 people because they still want us to socially distance. So, by the time we add up the people who are registered, the faculty and staff, as of today, I have exactly 97 seats left. 

If you’ve always wanted to go or are planning to go, I highly recommend you grab your seat and hotel room now. 

Here’s what’s happening at my company Streamline at the moment…

Our next virtual event, Pastel Live, is happening in August. About 40% of the people who attended PleinAir Live have already signed up. It’s going to be fun, fun, fun!

Peacefully, I sit staring out at the gnarly oaks, twisting and moving in all directions. In the distance, a barely visible gray mountain and a dull white sky. Soon sprinkles begin, and the mountain disappears as the clouds move toward this old porch overlooking the vast Texas land. Suddenly, I’m disrupted by barking dogs, tearing off my red wicker couch to chase a rogue squirrel who dares to dart into their territory. Sniffing and barking, they look aimlessly around, not understanding the squirrel went up a tree. It’s entertaining the first time it happens, but by the fifth time, it’s a little disruptive.

The Camera Lens

Years ago, when I was in my early 20s, I supplemented my radio DJ income as a wedding photographer. I had studied under Rocky Gunn (1940-1983), who was considered one of the best. He taught me a ton of techniques to make spectacular and interesting photos, one of which was the use of filters. For instance, I had a filter that made the photos look dreamy, another that colored the entire photo in a color like red or blue, another that made the sky darker. Anyone who knows photography knows filters.

But most of us don’t know about the filters that color our lives. We each have a set or two, and as in photography, if we were to use the same filters in every shot, our photos would have no variety and everything would be the same.

Recently when I spoke of disruption, I mentioned that rarely can someone “inside” come up with disruptive ideas because they are too close to things. That closeness is a filter.

Reinventing Radio

In 1999, when I started RadioCentral, one of the very first Internet radio companies, I had success raising money from people outside the radio industry (and raised millions). But those inside the industry, who had the most to gain, were reluctant to participate. They could not see (or admit) that they would be disrupted by music online. Their lens was colored with the idea that radio has to be delivered through a transmitter, and they thought consumers would never get their music through their phones — people wouldn’t want a small speaker, they couldn’t easily listen in their cars, and the cost of data for music streams would be too much. Costly it was, at the time, but soon – like so many things — it no longer was. Though I was unable to keep my company going after the 9/11 recession, other disruptors came along, following in my footsteps and doing it better. Those disruptors could see things even I could not see, and as a result companies like Spotify approached things with a very smart membership model. I was too close to it and did not believe people would pay for their music. I was wrong because of my filter.

Golden Light

Our filters create a bias. For instance, ever since I became an artist, I see everything through the eyes of an artist. One day, at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention, I had gone to dinner with two or three friends who owned radio stations. We were walking down the street in Boston right as the golden afternoon light was washing the red brick buildings. I saw the light, saw its beauty, and thought about how I would paint it. When I pointed it out to them, they glanced and moved on, thinking I was just weird. One of the biases I fight is that I tend to make decisions in my business based on what artists need, which helps me relate and give people what they want, but it can also keep me from seeing where things are going and how things should be done.

Roadblocks

In my art marketing classes, which I hold annually at our Plein Air Convention, I’m teaching a room of a thousand or more artists, and I try to get them to embrace new ideas about selling art. Usually about 10 percent in the room embrace them, and the others cling to “that’s not the way things are done.” The bias is like handcuffs, preventing them from moving forward. That same bias has gotten in my way many times, even though I’m aware of it.

Angry and Negative

We also have emotional filters. Tony Robbins is the first I’ve ever heard point this out, in his new book, Life Force. Some of us have angry filters; we’re just angry at the world. Others have skeptical filters and are skeptical about everything, and others have loving filters, believing that everyone is loving and therefore treating everyone with acceptance.

Emotional filters can serve us well. There are times when being a skeptic is a good thing, times when accepting everyone is a good thing. But when these filters are applied all the time, it can hurt us. Ever know a Negative Nelly, someone who looks at the world and finds something negative to say about everything?

This Is Who You Should Hate

We also have filters based on our beliefs. At the moment, the filter is that Russians are bad and Ukrainians are good. Those filters are being reinforced by the images and video we’re seeing. And in America, we’ve always been told Russia is the enemy and is bad. When I started visiting there to paint, I changed my perception because of some of the amazingly sweet people I’ve met. I did not meet anyone who fit the narrative we’ve seen in the movies. My filter now tells me that some Russians, or Russian leaders, or Russian oligarchs, or the Russian Mafia, are bad, but the people I know in that country are just as upset as we are.

Finding Common Ground

Tony Robbins was teaching when the Twin Towers were hit on 9/11, and there were people in the room who worked in the towers, people who later found they had lost family, and a few people from other countries who were ambivalent about the action or even called it “justice.” The conflict was polarizing. And because they were all stuck there anyway, he helped them see how their filters were preventing them from seeing the viewpoints of others. Once they opened up and saw other perspectives, they understood one another and came to peace.

The One and Only Way

Religions — or the lack of belief — are also filters that color our biases and perceptions. The media has often portrayed Christians as nerds and bigots, yet I’ve found the opposite to be true. In America some have portrayed Muslims as different or maybe dangerous, yet through my daily broadcasts with international artists, I’ve made friends in Egypt and other countries only to find them to be sweet people. We are brought together by our commonalities, and though we might not see eye-to-eye on who our God is, or what happens to us when we die, sometimes our filters prevent us from being willing to listen to one another and see others’ point of view.

Blue Vs. White

Filters run deep because of our upbringing. Think of the differences in the ways you might perceive the world if you grew up as a blue collar worker in a union town, versus growing up middle class with parents who worked as executives. I’ve had people tell me that all corporations are evil, and that “the man” is out to get them, to squash them down. I’ve also had people tell me blue collar workers are lazy and deserve their low income because they are not willing to step up and do anything extra to get ahead, they just want to put in their eight hours and go to the bar. Neither is accurate, but our filters influence our thinking.

Stupid People

Our world is polarized because of our political filters, and the media we follow tends to distort things, finding and highlighting the worst examples. Too often we look at the other side with pity, or we mock them for their stupidity in believing what they believe. But what if we gathered information on our own, did not believe everything we’re told, and were willing to listen to our friends on the other side? We’re all too quick to judge. Families are divided because one cannot tolerate anyone with a different opinion. How sad is that?

I’m not suggesting you change all your filters. Our filters make up who we are.

But what if a filter is preventing you from doing something that will make life better?

What if it’s preventing you from seeing something that would strengthen your business, your job, or your artwork or hobby?

Awareness is the first step to not allowing our filters to control us.

Finish this sentence:

I see myself as…

What is the first thing that comes to mind? What comes next? What’s after that?

Now ask yourself: How is this helping me? And how is it hurting me or my relationships with others?

Fresh Eyes

Since I started painting years ago, I see myself as an artist, a painter, an oil painter. I was reluctant to try other things because I still have not mastered oil painting. Yet when I created my virtual art conferences and they were teaching watercolor in one and pastel in another, it opened my eyes, taught me new things that helped me take up these other mediums. Though I was uncomfortable at first, I now happily embrace these mediums and techniques, and they have given me new freedom, new ideas, and made me feel more balanced.

You can tell from the paragraph above that my lens is that of an artist, yet tens of thousands of people reading this have never picked up a paintbrush, and their filters may be telling them they have no ability or talent (something I can prove wrong), or just that they have no interest.

If I were into antique cars, my filter would lead me to sharing different examples.

How are your filters serving you?

How are they hurting you?

Where are they getting in your way?

Where are they hurting relationships?

Where are they preventing you from seeing opportunity or disruption?

How do others perceive you, and are they right?

Filters prevent us from being situational. If my filter is anger or negativity, I’m always looking for problems, or always wondering why everyone does not see my viewpoint. And that could be hampering my relationships and opportunities.

The Wedding I Screwed Up

I once shot a wedding where my film was bad in many of the shots, and the only things left that came out nice were the filtered shots, which the client hated. I was not paid, and endured (rightly so) an angry lecture. Not everyone likes the filters you like.

Over the years, some filters remain while new filters are added. My interests in photography, technology, marketing, radio and TV broadcasting, podcasting, etc., have made me more well rounded, yet during those periods in my life, I saw everything through that lens, and it discolored opportunity.

Your filters are who you are, but they don’t have to be.

Eric Rhoads

PS: Last week I mentioned the need for spontaneity, so Laurie and I got on a plane (the first in a long, long time) and headed to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. It made me realize how much I’ve missed travel and exposure to new things. Today, we return home, with our brains having been exposed to new things, new perspectives, and added filters.

My next big adventure will be our annual Plein Air Convention in Santa Fe. We get beginners, people who’ve never painted, as well as experienced pros. We learn from top people on four stages teaching oil painting, watercolor, pastel, acrylic, and other things. We go paint together (which is loads of fun). If you’ve never done anything like that, and if you are in a high-stress job, or you are just looking for more in your life to add filters to your bag, take the risk and join us. You’ll easily meet others, make friends, and gain a new perspective on life. Don’t tell yourself you can’t do it (a filter getting in the way) but that you should try it and find out.

Here’s what’s happening at my company Streamline at the moment…

Our next virtual event, Pastel Live, is happening in August. About 40% of the people who attended PleinAir Live have already signed up. It’s going to be fun, fun, fun!

Brilliant lime green blades of grass are popping up among the old dry winter grasses here at my Austin, Texas, property. Little buds are starting to force their way through the dirt, and if we’re lucky, some colorful spring flowers will soon decorate our flower beds. Warm bright sunshine is providing nourishment to my light-starved soul, which is ready for winter and frigid temperatures to take a vacation for about eight months.

An Exhausting but Fun Week

If you see a typo or two this morning, forgive me. I’m dragging. Exhausted from hosting four days of 8-plus-hour days on a live stream for our PleinAir Live event, which had a massive audience of landscape artists. We had over 30 top instructors doing demonstrations, and people tuning in from all corners of the earth. If you were a part of that group, I deeply appreciate your participation. I’m totally ready for a vacation. Maybe I’ll be spontaneous and take one.

You Wanna Go Where?

Decades ago, when my wife worked for an airline, spontaneity guided a hectic travel schedule. Though I was busily starting my business and working 17-hour days, seven days a week, if my wife got a weekend off or a long weekend, we would take an unplanned trip. On Thursday afternoon or Friday we would drive to the airport, look at the monitor overhead, pick an interesting flight to someplace we had never been, and if there was space, we would board the aircraft and fly for free. We could even upgrade to First Class for an extra $50 at the time, and if it was an overseas flight, we could upgrade for $150. (We rarely did that because we had so little money.) We would then arrive and visit a hotel that had discounts for airline employees. We always managed to find a room. When I’ve told friends about this, they’ve often reacted with a gasp. “I could never do that! I plan my travel months in advance.” 

When I was a kid, we rarely took a family vacation because of my dad’s busy work schedule. But one Saturday morning Dad woke us all early and said, “Pack a bag — we’re going to be gone for a week. We’re leaving in one hour.” He did not tell us where we were going.

A Lifetime Memory

We got in the old blue 1964 Oldsmobile and drove east, but he refused to tell us where we were going. My brothers and I kept guessing as we would see road signs, but we were always wrong. After about two days of driving, we saw a sign for New York City, and we drove into Manhattan, pulled up at a swanky hotel, and Dad said, “We’re home.” We then went to the 1965 World’s Fair, which was very cool.

Wanna Move?

I suppose my spontaneity gene came from my dad and our frequent last-minute adventures. Laurie and I had someone come to the door wanting to buy our house, and three weeks later we were living in a different city because we thought it would be fun. We’ve told ourselves we wanted to move about every decade. We get to know a city, make friends, then go elsewhere and do it again. Though we may be missing out on the security of a lifetime in one place, we’ve been invigorated by change.

What about you?

What invigorates you?

In what ways are you spontaneous?

Nuts for Ruts

We all have our routines that become ruts. We tend to repeat the same routines daily — we go to the same restaurants, we hang with the same people, we go to the same church. Sometimes we’ll go weeks in a rut, and I’ll just want to scream, “Get me outta here!” Then I’ll look for something I’ve never done before, just to break the ruts. 

Boredom Drives Me

People sometimes ask how I’ve built so many businesses, and the answer is simple. I get bored and have to find new things to occupy my time. I still love them, I never let go of them or sell them, but if I don’t have a new project every couple of years, it drives me insane. And my team will tell you I drive them nuts because I’ll drop in a few spontaneous projects a year. Sometimes they are a waste of time and a distraction, and sometimes they are a success. But in every case, I’ve broken my boredom and I’ve learned something.

In the last two years we’ve seen more change than ever. “Life is short, then you die” has been a little too close to home. 

What have you never done because you lacked the courage?

What do you have to lose?
How will you feel when you look back from your deathbed, not having completed that dream?

What are you waiting for?

You are capable of almost anything. You don’t even have to know how to do it, you simply have to commit to it and start. The answers will be revealed to you as you seek them. 

I want to encourage you to be spontaneous, to have some fun, to get out of your rut, and to revisit your dreams, and then launch them. You can do this — no special skills, no special gifts.
If we were all a little like Elon Musk, who comes up with ideas and then drives them to the moon, we would have a richer, more meaningful life.

Oh, and it’s not about money (though it can be). What drives people like Musk is the challenge of proving to himself and naysayers that the impossible is possible. That has always driven me.

I can look back on billion-dollar ideas I had that I never acted on, only to see someone else do it five years later. I’m done doing that. I’m going to go for it.

Are You READY to Be Spontaneous?

Spontaneity requires an idea, then a bold move to go forward. Do one thing today that is completely fresh, new, and spontaneous. You’ll get addicted. Trust me.

Eric Rhoads

PS: Years ago I had this spontaneous idea to create a giant dinner party with a few hundred artists. I dreamed we would all sit around a huge table, eat together, paint together, and the best would teach the rest of us. When I awoke from that dream, I pulled the trigger immediately and started working on my dream for the Plein Air Convention, a five-day event of painting, training, and lots of fun and friends. Naysayers were critical and shot the idea down. People told me no one would ever come, yet this May we’ll be sold out, and probably have 1,200 people, our biggest yet. 

Some people have told me, “I’m not good enough to come,”  or,  “I don’t know anyone,” or, “I’m not good at plein air painting,” or “I’m not sure I’ll fit in.” Stop the excuses and be spontaneous. You’ll never regret it.  

I’ll be wearing green this week on Thursday. I think I’ll go paint something green. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

Here’s what’s happening at my company Streamline at the moment…

Our next virtual event, Pastel Live, is happening in August. About 40% of the people who attended PleinAir Live have already signed up. It’s going to be fun, fun, fun!

Bright light burns into my retinas as I step on to the back porch in my bare feet. The sky is intense, shining brightly after days of gray soup, sleet, and ice. Goosebumps pop up along with the hairs on my bare arm as I leave the warm air inside to be assaulted by the cold outdoors. Yet hope for a warmer day and early signs of spring are on today’s agenda.

I Met a Girl

As a young teen, probably 14, I saw a girl at a party, and she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. I watched and stared until I got up the courage to ask her to dance, and we danced to “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” Slow dancing, with a beautiful girl, was something that had never happened to me. The feeling was incredible. 

Soon my mom was dropping me off at her house — supervised, of course. I remember one day, after a harsh winter, at the first sign of spring, probably 50 degrees, we walked to a local park and laid out on a blanket looking up at the sky, celebrating the return of warmer air and sunshine. The park was filled that day with others doing the same, as if it were summer. All celebrating spring in unison.

Old Flames Die Out

My time with that girl ended at some point, I’m not sure why, but to this day I hold that first innocent exposure to boy-meets-girl dear in my heart. Like many of our old flames, I sometimes saw her on Facebook. We were both in a local “Up with People” group back then, where we developed a lot of friendships. She married one of the other boys, and after decades together, he passed a few years ago. She seems to have disappeared. 

One Sunday, while I was still seeing this girl, we hopped in the car, drove an hour or two with her mom, and drove through the gates of a big property with lots of red brick houses, a vivid memory. Soon we were sitting and talking with her dad. Until then, I had no idea he was in a rehab facility. It was my first realization that alcoholism existed and that it could tear families apart. But weeks later, he returned home, and things felt back to normal.

Other Passions

Not only was I in love with his daughter (at least I thought I was), I had fallen in love with radio. I had managed to get a Saturday and Sunday radio show on a local college station, and so anything to do with radio was cool to me. Knowing that, her dad found and restored an old radio as a gift to me. That led me to a lifetime of collecting antique radios — a passion I lost a decade ago, selling most of them off, but keeping a few favorites. That one I’ll never sell.

Looking back on my passions, my interests, and even my love interests, some stuck, while others lasted only a little while. Some I loved so passionately, I made deep commitments, but others were shed after a season.

Few Things Stick

In almost every case, I had told myself that this interest, this passion, would never die, but only a few things have stuck throughout my life. It’s why, when I’m coaching my son about his passion for a girl who does not seem to share his feelings, I can lend the perspective that she probably won’t be the only one. But to him, as it did with me, it seems like the end of the world.

Love Lost, Again

I can remember sitting on the edge of my bed, sobbing, with my grandmother comforting me over the loss of another girl who was, at the time, my great love (there were many, till I found my true great love). It was the end of the world, I could not go on without her. But I healed, and when she came back to me many years later in hopes of getting together again, I had moved on. She popped in to explore getting back together several times over the years, perhaps realizing that she did feel the same for me as I had for her. Even toward the end of her life, she approached me again, but I was in a better place.

Floating in the Clouds

In the moment, we lose perspective, we are smitten with passion, we are addicted to the dopamine rush — there is no better feeling than floating on the cloud of new love. Practicality rarely enters the room when new love is present. But eventually it rears its ugly head, at which time we realize it’s either time to go, or time to stay. And if we’re really lucky, we realize that there is more to life than fresh and new, and it’s replaced by stable and secure, with the realization that the depth of love isn’t fireworks, but a small burning candle that never goes out, even when the trials of life and child-rearing take their toll. There are times when the wind is blowing and the flame flickers, and there are moments when it briefly seems to die but soon reignites itself. True love is an eternal flame. I’m lucky to have found that.

Fields of Flowers

Springtime, like fresh love, brings new hope. Soon, here in Texas, fields will be covered with bluebonnets as far as the eye can see, followed by fields of orange flowers called Indian paintbrush, followed by the LYFs (little yellow flowers). 

And spring will come to you soon. After the harshness of winter, spring renews our spirit. Life isn’t all springtime; we have to endure all the seasons, including the autumn, when the leaves of love and passion fall, and the winter, when everything freezes. But when facing those moments, there is hope knowing that spring and summer are around the corner, even though sometimes it seems the winter moments in life will never end. They always do. 

Eric Rhoads

PS: Lately I’ve been doing a lot of playing. Last week I tried my first portraits in watercolor. Though not terribly successful, I learned a lot and became inspired to master the medium more (using much of what I learned at Watercolor Live). This week, I bought about 50 pounds of Monster Clay and I’ve been doing my first full-size bust of a head, just to see if I can do it. I’m having a lot of fun trying things I’ve not done before, and it’s making me more excited about everything else. I encourage you to play, to get outside your comfort zone, try something new, get out of your routines.

This week, starting Wednesday the 9th with Beginner/Refresher Day, is my virtual conference called PleinAir Live. If you don’t know the term, plein air is a French term that has come to mean outdoor painting. This virtual conference is all about landscape painting (studio and outdoors), and it features 30 of the best landscape painters alive, including people teaching from other countries. We will have a massive audience, a chance to learn for three days, March 10-12 (four days if you do the Beginner/Refresher day on the 9th, which you can sign up for without the rest of the event). And there are replays you can watch if you can’t make the dates or if you want to rewatch. This might just be the thing you need to pull you out of your comfort zone.

Also going on at Streamline this week…

Plein Air Salon Entry Deadline

$30,000 Art Competition/Deadline: March 31, 2022

Annual Winners Will Be Announced Live at PACE on May 17 in Santa Fe, NM.

Enter this monthly online competition to win cash prizes and recognition. Monthly category winners will be entered into the Annual Competition where the Grand Prize is $15,000 cash and the cover of PleinAir Magazine. Enter one of our 18 categories in plein air and in studio painting.

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3rd Annual Plein Air Live Virtual Conference

Virtual Event: March 9-12, 2022

Beginners Day: March 9

March 6 is the last day to save up to $300 on a ticket

Replays available if you can’t make the date.

PleinAir magazine presents Plein Air Live, a 4-day online training event featuring 30 of the world’s top landscape and plein air artists doing demonstrations and presentations. Join thousands of artists from around the world to take your work to the next level and learn about the plein air lifestyle and how to become a part of it.

Learn more.